Dark chocolate + Italian hazelnuts + Bakehouse bread = Delicious³
I have long been a big, big fan of not overcomplicating cooking. I would far prefer to pair a couple of world-class ingredients and let their flavors shine than pile on too many almost disparate additions. While the latter can sound impressive, I’m inclined towards terrific pairings that start with exceptionally flavorful raw materials. At the Project Threadways Symposium, chef, food writer, and friend Lisa Donovan made an amazing plate of fresh asparagus (it’s in season down South!) with a magical, lovely homemade mayonnaise. The combination I’m writing about here comes from a different part of the culinary spectrum, but it is equally excellent.
While the idea of this pairing was not new to me, I can forget sometimes how truly superb something can taste until I’m eating it! Which is what happened the week before last when my mental lapse about this combo came to a quick, compelling, and culinarily lovely end! I brought the two to a meeting for others to enjoy. I don’t really eat breakfast, but I took one taste and … well, it was so terrific I kind of kept going! Honestly, it was so delicious it was hard to stop! A fresh Bakehouse baguette in the morning, maybe an hour or so out of the oven, and the chocolate hazelnut spread from Italy that more and more folks around town now know as Noccioliva! The National Institutes of Health says that “experiences of awe promote greater humility.” That is exactly what happened here! Wow!
Let’s begin with the bread. The Bakehouse’s French baguettes seem to get better and better with each passing year. Some days, when humidity, the hands of the bakers, outdoor temperature, and all the other elements involved come together in just the right way, they’re amazing. This was one of those days. Great crisp crust. Chewy interior. Creamy and just a touch sweet on the tongue, even though there is neither dairy nor sugar in the mix—just organic flour, filtered water, a small bit of commercial yeast, and Sicilian sea salt!
The Noccioliva, made in Lazio in central Italy and shipped across the ocean to Ann Arbor, isn’t subject to vagaries of daily weather shifts. It’s always amazing. A whole bunch of high-quality Italian hazelnuts ground with a wealth of wonderfully dark chocolate, enriched and made smooth by a gentle dose of extra virgin olive oil. It is magically marvelous no matter when you eat it. As I often say, it is what that supermarket brand of chocolate hazelnut spread aspires to be.
The two together that morning reminded me of what I’d known intellectually for a long time but had completely forgotten: how freaking good the combination is. The slightly salty, crisp savoriness of the baguette with the subtly sweet, nutty, rich, deep, dark chocolatiness of the Noccioliva. Outstanding would be an understatement!
There is much amiss in the world as I write this week, but for a few minutes, with your morning coffee, this beautiful combination can bring a bit of exceptional culinary joy! Simple, exceptional excellence that takes at most two minutes to make. If you like it, consider buying the large “family-sized” container of Noccioliva—shelf life is long and it’s so, so good! It would be great, I’ll add, with the Bakehouse’s amazing cheesecake!
